A European Journey through Life and Change How to tell a story? Technologies of telling a story

How to make a colour and sound video

To get to know how to make a colour and sound video, you have to have some background knowledge.

background knowledge n In the presentation “How to make a coloured photo“, you can find all information you need to take a coloured photo. n In the presentation “How to make a silent movie“, you can find all information you need to make a silent movie.

history n Silent movies weren‘t really silent. They were often accompanied by a piano or an organ (a special organ for cinemas: It can do many different noises, for example the creaking of a door). When there were premieres, there was often an orchestra. The success of a film very often depended on the narrator who commented the film. n In the 1920s, people first tried to combine sounds with the movie. Therefore, they used the method sound-on-disc, which we will explain later on. n In 1927, “The Jazz Singer“, a movie with synchronized music, noises and speech scenes was published: the method was sound-on-film. It had international success. n In the 1930s this method was used as the only one. n Until 1936 movies with sound replaced silent movies.

technical details n Microphone to sound waves: Microphone : sound waves  electric signal  to the loudspeaker Loudspeaker: electric signal  sound waves n The recording of the sound is done independently of the pictures. After that they will be put together. n Equipment: In former times people used magnetic tapes, for example cassette and audio tape. Later, those were replaced by digital storage items like hard discs or memory cards. This technique has a better recording quality than the old one.

Sound-on-disc n Production was the same like with disc recording. That means that sound and picture were separated. The film projectionist was responsible for the different media being synchronized. In order to attune the sound and the picture, the projector and the record player had to be connected mechanically. Another version was the use of metal tags on the strip which linked sound and pictures. n The equipment for sound-on-disc is the phonograph.

Sound-on-film n This technique is in use until today. The pictures and the sound are fixed on the same strip. n In order to avoid the jerky moves of the projector and to present the pictures and the audio track in a fluent way, the technical means of the projector also had to be changed.

Effect of sound in movie Sound is very important in a movie because it has a big effect: n It influences our feelings (with its speed, loudness and atmosphere). n Its design affects how spectators absorb the movie. n Sound awakes the moving pictures to life. n It can mark people or topics. n Sounds can support movements. n They can alienate pictures, produce feelings like disgust or fear…

Effect of sound in movie n Different studies show that the musical frequency stimulates pulse and breathing. n Effectivity depends on how many emotions the observers admit n Unmeant jumping sounds sound unprofessional n Source of sound isn‘t important - A good effect and a nice sound can be produced by simple means

Different types of sound recording in a movie The sound in a movie generally consists of the following elements: Music: n It boosts the emotions of the audience, n serves as recognition value, n can come from one instrument or from orchestra. n Lots of compositions are made especially for one film scene, others already exist and have to be conformed to the film scene n The soundtrack of a film is important for the commercial success.

Atmo: n sound recording of the atmosphere at the location of the act n can also have musical qualities n passage of the atmos and the music quite floating Noises: n acoustic events that you hear more clearly than the rest of the acoustic events n if you don’t record noises at the film location, there will be special sound effect studios n Foley artists make some important noises to the running picture with everyday life articles (they often sound more real than the original) Different types of sound recording in a movie

n Language: n language includes for example conversations, thoughts or comments n often it is recorded after the turning operations in a studio n O-sound: n “O” is the shortcut for “original” n parallel to the picture recording of original sounds of conversations and noises n often not good enough, recorded after the turning operations in a studio n Off-sound: n Language or noises from outside the picture (for example “loud thoughts”, conversations of the side room or noises that you hear more clearly from outside)